Pfizer blood pressure med recall - cancer risk

[womanofthehills]

CNN
—
Pfizer has issued a recall for a high blood pressure medication distributed under three names, according to the company.

Accuretic and its two generic versions distributed by Greenstone – quinapril and hydrochlorothiazide tablets and quinapril HCl/hydrochlorothiazide tablets – are subject to the recall.

The medications treat hypertension, which increases the risk for potential dangerous cardiovascular events like strokes.

The recall is voluntary, and stems from the tablets containing higher levels of nitrosamines, which pose a cancer risk, although Pfizer said in a news release “there is no immediate risk to patients taking this medication.” https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/23/health/pfizer-blood-pressure-medication-recall-wellness/index.html

[barbtries]

1. thank you.

i take HCI/hydrochlorothiazide. Will contact my dr

ETA: the pfizer link - only particular lots are under recall, info is here:
https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizer-voluntary-nationwide-recall-lots-accuretictm

second edit: what i take is triamterene-HCTZ, so am not affected. sigh

[Nictuku]

2. I realized that it was from March, 22

... only after I sent an email to my doctor. Not sure if what I take is the same med or not. It is hydrochlorothiazide, but it is in capsule form, not tablet. It will be worth seeing what she says about it.

[Model35mech]

3. This has happened to a handful of BP meds over the past 21/2 years

The problem chemical is common in foods that undergo heating, which transform proteins and aminoacids. We eat them it all the time. But there are limits on its presence in meds.

When this happened to the BP med I was the warning came 4 months -after- Canadian drug regulators announced the problem there.

It was unclear at that time where in the pills the problem chemical came from... the active med, or the filler that makes up the bulk of the pills or other components that may coat the pills.

So, I hope that they get a handle on this. It's been a problem for a fairly long time, long enough it seems for research to at least figure out where the nitrosamines are coming from.